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Program Support Assistant (Office of Patient Advocacy)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Program Support Assistant in the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Patient Advocacy Office aligned under Associate Director. The incumbent will support the Office of Patient Advocacy and patient experience efforts for Veterans who are receiving care and support at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will manage and execute phone calls and face to face interactions from Veterans seeking assistance from the Patient Advocate Office.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/27/2023 to 02/15/2023
Salary
$43,771 to - $56,899 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Cincinnati, OH
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - Not to Exceed 3 years
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSR-11817335-23-AF
Control number
702820800

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Duties

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The major duties of the Program Support Assistant position include:

Program Support:

The Program Support Assistant utilizes PATS-R to assist the patient advocates in handling Veteran complaints that come through a variety of avenues. The Program Support Assistant aligns the PATSR, Report of Contact (RoC), to the appropriate Patient Advocate who forwards the inquiry on to the service line for service recovery. Many times, the Program Support Assistant is the one to reach out to the service line for additional input that it added to the PATSR RoC. The incumbent retrieves data from Veteran Signals (VSignals) and enters all VSignals comments into a useable data excel software in order to then manually transferred into the PATSR system. The information assists in identifying opportunities for departmental growth and satisfaction related to improved customer experience.

Program Support Assistant conducts monthly service line email group reviews which results in identifying Service Line Advocates (SLA) and Service Line Users (SLU) that are not granted credentials (license/provisions) within the PATSR system. Each quarter an audit is performed that requires the service line to commit to the following: 1) SLA/SLU's have a process for addressing PATSR concerns that come from the Office of Patient Advocacy; 2) SLA/SLU email owner has certificated email group; and, 3) confirm that all SLA/SLU's are appropriate individuals for addressing PATSR concerns. The importance of these reviews/audits is critical to the National OPA timelines in which customer concerns are to be addressed.

The incumbent will use the VA Medical Center's established initial intake responsibilities-to include receipt of information from veterans and appropriate investigatory and resolution alpha numeric assignment to patient advocates.

Customer Service:

The incumbent will also help assess Veteran's needs; identifies problems; help resolve problems; identifies solutions, and tracks concerns raised by Veterans.

Incumbent serves as the initial intake when Veteran's present (virtually or in person) with an inquiry related to their (Veteran) treatment/care experience. The dialogue is accurately captured within the data system of PATSR where all Report of Contact's are maintained. This new system, Patient Advocate Tracking System, Replacement (PATSR) is the sole database for entering and tracking customer inquiries (concerns, compliments and recommendations). This involves incumbent having to engaged with customers in order to capture all details surrounding their inquiry.

Outreach:

Incumbent also serves as a Program Support Assistant conducting internal outreach for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will periodically manage a call list of Veterans to reach out to and follow up with to educate and support the efforts to maintain Veterans active enrollment in VA health care at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (Office of Patient Advocacy)/PD914700
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/15/2023.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 grade level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
    • Serves as the initial point of contact, manages and executes phone calls and face to face interactions with Veterans through various forms of communication.
    • Provides clerical and administrative support.
    • Conducts monthly/quarterly audits of service lines and mail groups.
    • Conducts internal outreach for the VA Medical Center, which may include managing a call list.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements:

The majority of work is performed in an office setting with adequate light, heat, and ventilation. Typical office setting, subject to noise caused by multiple visits by staff, equipment and telephone interruptions when performing various functions daily. Work is mostly sedentary, however does require standing, ambulation, bending, and lifting of objects of less than 25 pounds.

The incumbent must be emotionally stable and function effectively in very stressful situations. Relationships with emotionally and/or physically ill patients and their families can become intense and require calm and careful management. Incumbent must be perceptive and able to identify patients who, if not handled properly, could pose a threat to themselves or others. Physical demands include walking, standing, bending, carrying light items such as a medical record, and occasionally assisting with a patient in a wheelchair.

The work requires a considerable amount of circulation within the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and could encounter complex, challenging situations.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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